| The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) are currently in discussion over the payment of workers’ annual production incentive (API).President of GAWU,China Jerseys Wholesale, Komal Chand,Cheap Authentic Jerseys, in an invited comment yesterday explained that GAWU and GuySuCo have already held four bilateral meetings and they are now at conciliation level, with the hope of reaching a compromise on the matter.According to Chand,Authentic NFL Jerseys Cheap, the union is arguing for the sugar workers to be compensated for 228,000 tonnes of sugar which includes nine days’ pay.However, GuySuCo wants to give the workers four days’ pay since the entity did not reach the target.The first and second crops for last year ended with 233,733 tonnes of sugar, while GuySuCo had a target of 290,000 tonnes.But Chand explained that both parties are hoping to arrive at a compromise before the commencement of the first crop which is scheduled for the end of this month.According to the union president,Wholesale Jerseys Authentic, GuySuCo is afraid that the workers will go on strike when the first crop commences,Cheap NFL Jerseys, if no agreement is arrived at as it relates to the API. In October of last year, sugar workers at the La Bonne Intention (LBI) estate went on strike as they demanded to obtain an acceptable target for sugar production for their estate to secure weekly production incentive (WPI).On October 14th, 2009, also, there was a total shutdown of the entire sugar industry, after sugar workers from all the estates resorted to industrial action in retaliation to GuySuCo’s withdrawal from the wages and salaries negotiation they were having with GAWU.However,Cheap Jerseys, that issue has already been dealt with.2009 was a year of many challenges for GuySuCo, as the sugar company had revealed that losses for that year alone were $2.5 billion with almost $5 billion owed to banks.Additionally, the company is facing a grim financial situation with almost $1.8 billion owed to creditors at the end of September of 2009.In 2008, GuySuCo, one of Guyana’s biggest foreign exchange earners, declared losses of $4 billion and indebtedness to the banks of $3 billion. (Fareeza Haniff) |
